Romeo and Juliet
by KiraraGlitter
Summary: Am I the only one who just realized that Zoey and Dren are like a Romeo and Juliet? Well, here's a story dedicated to it. Takes place at the end of the manga/anime.
1. Chapter 1

(Author's Note: This story takes place after everything went down in the anime/manga/show/whatever. So basically, they've stopped fighting each other over Mew/Blue Aqua, and the Cyniclons have their own planet. But Deep Blue didn't completely die – yes we know this is completely fictional, but check the title of the site: it's Not So deal with it, all you flamers!)

Prologue 

"Mark, why the heck are you packing up a suitcase?" I had come to Mark's house for a visit, and his mom had told me his was in his room. So I'd traipsed up the stairs only to find him packing up a suitcase.

"Zoey, it's too dangerous for me to stay here. I keep turning into Deep Blue, and I don't want to hurt you. Which is why I think it's for the best that we break up. At least, I don't think we can carry on a long-distance relationship where I'm going."

"But Mark! Why? Why now? And just… why?"

"I'm sick of waking up and not knowing if I hurt you, or if I killed you. I don't want to hurt anyone, so I'm going so far away from here. That way I can't ever hurt anyone again. I'm sorry, Zoey."

"It's okay. I'll miss you, Mark."

_This doesn't hurt like I thought it would. I always thought that if I ever broke up with Mark, it would end in heartbreak. Does this mean he wasn't my true love?_

"Where are you going?"

"I can't tell you. If I did, you might try to follow me."

_Oddly enough, Mark, I'm not thinking of following you. I just want to know where you'll be, so I can make sure you're safe. You may not be my true love, as my heart keeps telling me, but you were my first love, and I'll never forget you. But if you want to keep it a secret, so be it._

"I guess this is really… the end."

"Don't say that, Zoey." He dropped his suitcase and put his arms on my shoulders. "If we're really meant to be, we'll meet again. And if we're not… well, then it's definitely for the best."

"I hope you're right," the part of me that was Mark's girlfriend felt complied to say. "About all of it."

"Well, now it's _really_ time to say good-bye, Zoey. I have to go now, and you need to get out of my room."

"Oh! Well then, I guess we'd better both go." He walked me down the stairs, out the door, and back to the Café (more about that later). "Good-bye, Mark."

"Good-bye, Zoey. I hope I'll see you again."

I watched him go, until he was nothing but a shadow on the horizon. My first love, walking out of my life just like that. I stood there, watching the area he'd walked off into for a while, noticing one thing all too well – my lack of tears.

"Zoey, are you going to come inside and work, or are you going to stare at the mountains all day?"

"Coming, Corina!" I took one last long look at the direction Mark had walked off to, then headed inside.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One 

Now, before I get on with the rest of the story, you're probably wondering what's going on here. Well, here's the back story.

Hi. My name is Zoey Hanson, and I am seventeen years old. As part of an experimental project called 'The Mew Project,' I am fused with the DNA of an Iriomote wildcat. Four other girls just like me – Corina Bucksworth, Bridget Verdant, Kiki Benjamin, and Renee Roberts – were also fused with the DNA of endangered species (ultramarine blue lorikeet for Corina, finless porpoise for Bridget, golden lion tamarin for Kiki, and gray wolf for Renee). They are my teammates, fellow waitresses at Café Mew Mew (a cute little café that doubles as a secret underground research facility for The Mew Project), and friends.

The Mew Project was created to save Earth from a band of aliens called the Cyniclons who wanted Earth for themselves. Enough said, right? I thought so. Moving on.

The guy I was talking to is named Mark, and he (is? was?) my boyfriend. He's an athlete, mega-cute, and had a crush on me. Sounds like the perfect guy, right? Well… it turns out that he had an alien form. He became the Blue Knight, a tall, blond alien with a blue outfit and the traditional pointed Cyniclon ears. The Blue Knight is some kind of protector to me – he was born with one purpose: to protect me. Still sound like a good guy? Keep reading, you'll change your mind. Because there's more. It turns out though that he also was the leader of the Cyniclons, named Deep Blue – basically the Blue Knight with black hair. He went kind of psycho towards the end of the last battle and even killed one of his own warriors (although, the aforementioned warrior was trying to save me from being killed by Deep Blue, so I guess he had a reason). Then he tried to kill me, but thankfully, because of some weird thing that I'm really not sure what happened during, the parts of Deep Blue that were Mark won out over the parts of Deep Blue that were Deep Blue, and Deep Blue was gone… or we all thought. But apparently, Deep Blue isn't as gone as we thought he was. So that would explain why Mark was leaving.

One thing was interesting, though. When we were saying good-bye, I wasn't upset, heartbroken, tearful, or anything of those things girlfriends are supposed to be when their boyfriends leave and/or break up with them. Interesting.

Oh well. There's no time to think about Mark now. I still have cake to deliver and cappuccinos to make and tables to clear and checks to calculate and messes to clean up and…

"Zoey, would you mind doing your work instead of just staring off into space? Here. Take these slices of mocha cake and these two skinny lattes to table four. And then when you're done, there's a group of people waiting to be seated, and another group that needs to get their check. Oh, and Kiki dropped a few shortcake plates in a pile of apple cake Bridget spilled, and now it's a huge mess – clean that up when you're done." Oh yeah. That's my boss, Elliot Grant, also known as the Attitude King. Don't ever let him catch you saying that, though, or you might not live to see tomorrow. And that's being optimistic.

"You got that right." said Renee.

"I was thinking out loud?!"

"Yes, you were, Zoey. And just because of that, why don't you bring table four the super-duper Mew Mew special – on you, of course."

"Now, now, Elliot, calm down. Zoey didn't do anything remotely wrong. Why make her pay for the forty-dollar Mew Mew special?" Saved by the bell. Or, in my case, Prince Charming II, also known as Wesley J. Coolidge, Elliot's partner in the Mew project.

"So that's my nickname."

"I was thinking out loud again?!"

"You have a habit of doing that, Zoey." Cold, Corina. Real cold. A polar bear would freeze living inside Corina's heart – if she even has one, that is.

"I heard that!" I really have to stop doing this. Talking out loud, that is. If I get too embarrassed, my ears and tail will pop up, and then things _really_ get embarrassing.

"Ooh, Zoey, your tail popped up! And your ears, too!" Oops, too late.

"Better Mew Mew down, Zoey. You don't want to freak out the customers."

"Oh…kay." Easier said than done, however. Calm down, calm down, calm down, calm down!

"He's back!" Tarb breezed into the fortress, disrupting my perfectly good nap.

"Little guy, I hope you have a very good reason for waking me up. I was in the middle of a wonderful dream." Actually, since I'd been having the same dream every time I fell asleep, it was nothing new. It was about Zoey, like it always was.

"I know what you were dreaming about," Tarb sing-song taunted.

_Please don't say it, please don't say it, _please_ don't say it!_

"You're dreaming about Zoey again!"

"Tarb!" Am I really that predictable?

"I still don't see why you're so hung up on that pathetic human," Sardon remarked from his perch – at our computer, where he always is.

"Take that back! Zoey is not pathetic. She's sweet, and cute, and nice, and smart, and funny, and…"

"And this list would go on for about two more hours, if I didn't point out one itsy-bitsy little detail about your dream girl – she's human!"

"So what? You like Renee!"

"I do not!" Sardon tried to say, but he blushed.

"Guys! Can you stop fighting long enough for me to tell you the big news? _He's_ back."

"Who he?"

"You know who he!"

"He who?"

"Dren, I definitely know that you know he who?"

"Who, he?"

"Yes he!"

"He who?"

"How you idiots understand each other, I have no idea. Just tell us who he is already, Tarb." That was Sardon, of course – Tarb would never call himself an idiot (but Sardon and I do – behind his back, of course).

"Deep Blue! Deep Blue is back!"

"Who is what?" Now it was Sardon's turn to sound like an idiot.

"Deep Blue is back!"

"He is! Sardon fainted.

"He is?" I wasn't about to faint, just curious. The last time I saw Deep Blue, he had supposedly killed off the part of himself that was our alien leader and had reverted back to being Zoey's lovey-dovey boyfriend, Mark. Him coming back could be good or bad for me.

"What do you mean, 'him coming back could be good or bad,' Dren?"

"Shut up, Tarb. Wait, I was thinking out loud?"

"Yes, you were. What _do_ you mean?" Apparently, Sardon had woken up while I was thinking about Deep Blue. "Wait, are you referring to the fact that Deep Blue's human form was Zoey's boyfriend?"

"Why were you talking out loud in the first place, Dren? And doesn't Zoey do that?" Oh, I was so going to kill Tarb for that.

"Yes, she does."

"I know, isn't that weird?"

"SHUT UP ABOUT ZOEY ALREADY!"

"Well geez, Dren, you don't have to go all psycho on us."

"PSYCHO?" I looked down at my hands. Somehow, my sais (my personal weapons, a type of sword) had materialized, sensing my need to destroy something.

"What do you need to destroy, Dren?"

"Oh great, I did it again. This time I'm really going to…"

"Calm down, Dren." This cool new voice entered the base, causing us all to jump.

"Deep Blue. Welcome back, master." Sardon bowed out of respect, then forcefully motioned Tarb and me to do the same. Tarb obliged, but I fainted out of complete shock.

"Is there something wrong with Dren?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, he…  
"N-no, he's just shocked to see you back, Master." Sardon pulled Tarb aside and removed his hand from Tarb's mouth. "What are you thinking? You can't tell master Deep Blue Dren's still hung up on Zoey! That would be like digging our graves, idiot!"

"What would be like digging your own graves?"

"Um… um… well… um…" Thankfully, instead of ratting me out for my crush on Zoey, they chose to faint and leave Deep Blue hanging. When those guys wake up, I am fully going to be a lot nicer to them… unless they start making fun of Zoey again. Then the gloves are going to come off and the sais are going to come out!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Two 

"Thank you again for saving my butt with the whole Deep Blue situation. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Yeah, you can do me a favor," Sardon said. "Stop doing me favors! Tarb and I are getting sick of it."

"Okay. I'm just eternally grateful for not spilling the beans about…"

"We get it, you idiot!" Tarb yelled.

"Okay. I'll stop, I'll stop, I'll stop. But I really mean it. If Deep Blue found out about Zoey, I'd be dead."

"We understand," Sardon said, in his I'm-trying-to-stay-calm-but-it's-really-hard-because-you're-being-such-a-big-fat-idiot voice. "Now stop thanking us, or I'll get the tranquilizer gun."

"I'll just stop now." I backed up about five feet, and bumped into our portal-maker. That gave me an idea. "I'm gonna go… see what those pesky Mew Mews are up to. Be back in about an hour or so. And don't tell Deep Blue where I went, will you?"

"As long as you get out of here and don't come back anytime soon, we'll keep all your little secrets secret."

"Thanks a lot. Be back soon!" I hopped into the Earth-bound portal quickly, but not quickly enough to not hear Sardon say, "Not too soon," under his breath.

I would have yelled, "I heard that, and you are so dead," but the portal had already taken me halfway to Earth.

"Well, that's the last of your chores, Zoey. You can go home now."

"Thank goodness. It's nine-thirty. My parents are gonna kill me." I changed out of the regulation Café Mew Mew short red dress and frilly white apron and back into my school uniform – a short gray dress with a red bow at the neck and a white blouse underneath.

"It's your fault," Elliot said.

"No it's not. I can't help it if I talk out loud."

"Yes you can. Now go home. And think about why I kept you so late. Hopefully it won't happen again." And with that, Elliot practically shoved me out the door. Not one for nice good-byes or manners was he.

As soon as I started to walk home, the clouds moved in, the sky got dark, the wind grew cold, and rain started to pour down on me in buckets. My cat instincts told it was time to run – a now or never thing. So I took shelter under the nearest thing with a roof – a rickety flower stand with a red-and-white-striped awning that said CHRISTIE'S FLOWERS.

The rain just kept pouring as time past. My cell phone had unfortunately never been replaced after Dren had stabbed it with one of his sais on City Tower, and there was no phone at Christie's Flowers, so I had no way of contacting my parents or even Elliot and Wesley back at the Café. Just then, I felt someone tap me on my shoulder and say, "Hey kitty cat."

"Dren! What are you doing back on Earth?"

"Apparently, watching you freeze to death with no way home. I can take you back to your house if you want."

"And what to I have to do in exchange. kiss you?" Oddly enough, I was actually willing to kiss him, which made me blush.

"Nothing. I was going for a stroll – well, more like a fly – and I saw you run under this little shop. After looking at the time and putting two and two together, I decided it would be nice to help you home."

"Well, okay, I guess," I said. This was uncharacteristically nice, even for Dren, who had always been the nicest of the Cyniclons. What was up? Was he spelled or under the influence of some kind of potion? Were Tarb and Sardon pulling the strings somewhere and this was all just a trick to embarrass me?

As if he could read my mind, he said, "Nothing like you might think, kitty cat. I'm just being nice. Now, do you want a ride home or not?"

"Okay." He whipped his hands in the air in some complicated motion I didn't understand, and all of a sudden we were surrounded in some kind of silvery shimmering bubble. The coolest thing about it was that all the raindrops that hit it just kind of slid off, so we were completely dry. I slipped my hand into his, assuming we were ready to go, but he shook his head.

"You gotta hold on tighter, kitty cat. Otherwise, you might fall. This bubble may keep off the rain, but it won't keep you in if you fall."

I felt my cheeks flush a little, but since I wanted that ride home, I wrapped my arms around his waist.

He shook his head again. "Better, but not tight enough yet. Tighter, kitty."

This time my whole face went bright red. But then I looked at my watch. It was ten, exactly my curfew. If I didn't get home soon, I'd be in serious trouble. So I just closed my eyes, thought about my parents, and wrapped my arms around his neck. I practically fainted when he said, "Still not tight enough."

Apparently, he was getting just as annoyed that I couldn't figure out how to hold on tightly as I was, because he just picked me up and said, "This should do." My whole body went bright red, and my ears and tail popped up, but I was happy, because he was finally going to take me home. So what if I had to spend the next few minutes or so having him hold me? _It was worth it,_ I kept telling myself. _And the fluttery feeling in your stomach is just nervousness, not a crush. You do _not_ have a crush on Dren. Because that would just be crazy, right? Right?_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Three

Dren came to see me again about fifteen times the next day, usually for a quick visit to check up on me, or calm me down, or even just to stop by the window of my class and say "Hi Zoey!" really happily. Since when did the Cyniclons get so much time to visit anyway? And all those visits really did was make my cat ears pop, and make me blush. I wonder why I was blushing, and my cat ears used to only popped up when Mark was around, so…

"Zoey, put two and two together," said Renee. "You obviously like whoever it is you're mumbling about."

WHAT! Renee says that I like Dren! But… but… whenever Renee says you like someone, she's almost always right. So that means, I'm in love with an evil Cyniclon (okay, a very nice, sweet, kind, funny, generous…

"Zoey, is this list of the good qualities in Dren going to go on forever?" Corina barked at me. "Wait… Dren! The Cyniclon? You're in LOVE with a CYNICLON? Renee, please tell me this isn't true!"

"Too late. It's true." I wish Renee wasn't so good at this. But then again… Dren is really nice and sweet and funny and hot and…

"And this list would go on for all eternity if I didn't stop you." Uh-oh. The Attitude King (aka Elliot), had chosen to butt in at that moment. "Come on girls. It's obvious what's going on here. The Cyniclons have hypnotized her into believing that she loves Dren. Have any of you been visited by a Cyniclon recently?"

"Well, Tar-Tar came to visit me, but he just wanted more candy drops! He's such a good friend!" Obviously Kiki. Who else calls Tarb Tar-Tar?

"I have not been hypnotized! Wait… did you hear that sound right after Kiki called Tarb her friend?"

"No, because it never happened. This only proves you've been hypnotized Zoey. You're going delusional." Oh, the things I would do to Elliot if I could _just_ get my hands on him!

"NO I AM _NOT_! LET GO OF ME! COME ON! Wesley, you believe me, right?"

And that's when I saw Dren looking through one window, and Tarb looking through another.

Zoey saw me eavesdropping on her. Oh great! Wait, why am I worried about that? Oh yeah. They think I hypnotized Zoey and are taking her for testing! I did not! If I did anything to influence her into liking me (YAY! She finally likes me!), it was _not_ anything that would make her like me against her will! That's just wrong! I'd better stop them before they do something drastic and make her a human robot!

"Make who a human robot? Oh wait, I know who. Zoey!" said Tarb. Wait a second, Tarb? What was he doing here?

"Tarb! What the _heck_ are you doing here? And was I thinking out loud again?"

"Getting more candy drops from Kiki. And yes, you were. Why are _you_ here?"

"Um… well… I was… uh…. um… visiting Zoey."

"Dude! Do you _want_ to get killed by Deep Blue?"

"He doesn't know I'm here. And unless _you_ want to get killed by _me_, you won't tell, small fry."

"I won't tell," Tarb said quickly.

"Great. Bye!"

"Hey you. Get back here!" Tarb screamed in the distance, but I was already going to save Zoey.

When I got to her, she was screaming her head off, and that stupid blond guy with the bad attitude was pointing a ray at her while the somewhat nice guy with the brown ponytail was telling him to test her before trying to erase her memories. Of course, I had to stop them before they did anything to my precious Zoey.

"Hey! Stupid blond guy! She hasn't been hypnotized!"

"And what makes you think I should believe you?"

"Because I have sais and you don't."

"Fine then, take her if she's so important to you."

"Okay, I will then. And if you try this again, I will know."

"Fine!" he exclaimed, grumbling something under his breath about how he couldn't believe Zoey would betray Earth like this. Thank _God_ Zoey didn't hear that. I just can't believe he didn't see I was bluffing. Well… unless he didn't take me seriously. Then I just might've attacked him. So I took Zoey away from the café and to our base on Earth (which was, thankfully, empty) to talk.

"Dren… thank you for saving me."

"I couldn't let you live like that. Without any memories, you live life in an empty shell. Sardon was like that once. We've gotten about half of his memories back, but he still barely remembers anything about his past, except that he's my older brother."

"You guys are related?"

"Yeah. Tarb is our younger brother. Why is it so much of a shock?" I asked, more out of curiosity than anything else. I really didn't see what the big deal was, but she laughed when I asked.

"Sorry for laughing, but it's just that… well… you guys don't look anything alike!"

"Well… you've got me there. Say, how is Mark doing?" I already knew the answer, but I was curious to see her point of view on things.

"Mark moved away about two weeks ago. He kept turning into Deep Blue, and he said he didn't want to hurt me anymore."

"That explains why Deep Blue returned to the Cyniclon planet," I thought out loud, wheels turning in my head as Deep Blue's sudden arrival back made more and more sense.

"He did? B…h…d…s…w…" Zoey fainted, in pure and utter shock.

I decided it was time to take her home now that she had fainted. So I picked her up and prepared to fly her home when she did something I really didn't expect. She woke up and kissed me.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Four

I was still on Cloud Nine from Zoey's kiss when I floated back through the portal. Tarb and Sardon took one look at the dreamy look on my face and exchanged glances – not very good-looking ones either. "Hey guys, what's wrong?" More stolen glances.

"Uh, Dren? I suggest you hop back in the portal you just came out of and go back to Earth for another few days. Maybe by then, this whole thing with Deep Blue and Zoey will have blown over."

"What thing with Deep Blue and Zoey?" Suddenly all euphoria of finally having Zoey kiss me (instead of the other way around) disappeared. "Tarb, did you say anything?"  
"No! Well, yes… uh, sort of."

"I asked Tarb where you went, and he told me it was to Earth to see Zoey, and then Deep Blue came in and overheard Tarb saying that, and then he got all mad and stormed out of the room. He went straight up to his room and that's where he's been since it happened." Easy for Sardon to say something like that so blithely. _He_ wasn't the one caught in the middle of what was almost definitely going to turn out to be a fight.

"Ah, Dren. Just the person I was looking for." Deep Blue finally made an entrance, breezing down the stairs. "In fact, I'm glad I caught all of you together. I just wanted you to know that I just sent out a signal declaring interplanetary war on Earth, and I want to draft you three as soldiers for our army."

"But, Deep Blue, our planet is beautiful again! Why would we waste our time ridding Earth of its' inhabitants?" Thank you, thank you, _thank you_ Sardon. If there's one person in all of us Deep Blue will listen to, it's Sardon.

"I believe one of our members has been unfaithful to our kind. And the only way to get rid of this unfaithfulness is to get rid of the reason for it." Although Deep Blue didn't name names, somehow I knew that he found out about me visiting Zoey. And that, to me, was _way_ worse than him just coming out and saying he saw me visiting Zoey. "And we might as well just get rid of all those filthy humans while we're at it."

"B-b-but…

"Enough! I will not hear one more word! Now, you three start training immediately."

"Training for what?" I feigned ignorance.

Deep Blue shot me a look that could have cut glass. "Training for the war, of course. As soon as you are all properly refreshed on how to fight, we will begin our first battle."

"Look Deep Blue, I understand how you want to get out your anger at Zoey about her dumping you, but that doesn't mean you should…

"ENOUGH!"

"But Deep Blue, I really think you're making a big…

"I SAID ENOUGH!" He shot some kind of blue energy bolt at me, sending me flying into the wall.

"Ow," I said, sliding down the wall. "That hurt."

"Now, hurry up and get to your first training session. I will have my revenge on that foolish planet if it is the last thing I do. And you three are going to help me do it."

"No," I said, standing up.

"What did you just say?"

"I said, no. I know that's not a word people tell you often, but you'd better get used to it, since there are a lot more no's coming your way. No, I will not fight in your stupid interplanetary war, which is just some phony reason for you to kill Zoey because of her dumping you (and by the way, I happen to know that _you_ dumped _her_, and not the other way around). No, Tarb and Sardon won't either. And here's the biggest no: No, I will not be your stupid little obedient puppy dog that runs your pathetic errands for you. And neither will my brothers. So we're out of here." I started to press the button for a portal to Earth, but (I know I shouldn't have, but I was just _so_ curious) I turned around and looked at Deep Blue's face.

He was livid. L-I-V-I-D li-vid! I swear, I thought the flesh was going to melt off his face, he was so angry. I guess no one had ever had the guts to talk to him like that. Well, you know the old saying, people do crazy things when they're in love.

"You will fight," he said slowly, regaining his calm quickly (which scared me), "or I will personally see to it that your precious girlfriend is killed in the very first battle. And won't be quick – she'll die a long, slow, painful death. A death that you will have to watch."

No! Zoey! I couldn't let him do that to her! "Okay," I heard myself saying, even though every part of my body was against the idea. "I'll fight."

"Excellent," he said. "Now go to your training session."

"Girls, you're going into interplanetary war." That was the first thing Elliot said as soon as we were all together the next day. What really annoyed me about what he said was not actually _what_ he said, but the _way_ he said it. Like, 'Go bring table five their apple cake. There's a water spill near table eight – somebody go clean that up. And by the way girls, we're going into interplanetary war.' 

"We are?" Bridget fainted (but she always does that, so no one was too worried).

"Okay, Elliot, nice joke. You really had us fooled for a moment. Even me! Now tell us why _you_ really called this meeting."

"Sorry, Renee, but it's not a joke. I wish it was, but the truth is, I received a signal last night. Our computers translated it into a weird language we didn't understand, and then turned it into English. And the signal basically said, **Beware, people of Earth, for we have declared interplanetary war! **Of course, no one else but us knows what it _really_ means."

"So when do we get to start fighting, huh?" Kiki asked. "When do we get to start bringing out the big guns?"

_Big guns._ I shuddered at the mere thought. I knew Kiki was referring to us using our powers and weapons, and not actual guns, but still, the idea of my teammates shooting bullets at Dren…

"Zoey, I thought you'd learned from your little mishap yesterday to STOP THINKING OUT LOUD!"

_Uh-oh. Just walk away slowly, Zoey. Calm down. Just because your cheeks are burning red does _not_ mean your cat ears and tail are going to…_

"Hey Zoey, your cat ears and tail popped up!" _Too late!_

"Zoey, just because Dren fought to protect your life when that big show-down in that weird tower was going on a couple months ago does _not_ change the fact that HE IS THE ENEMY!" Oh, Elliot, if you only knew that the show-down in the tower was _not_ the nearest time Dren showed his affections for me. Or that I kissed him the other day (yes, I said _I_ kissed _him_, not the other way around, but that's not the really shocking thing – the really shocking part was that I actually liked it). "It's your duty as a Mew Mew to protect Earth from the Cyniclons. Matters of the heart will just have to take a backseat to world safety."

"But why, Elliot? Why does my heart have to wait until we've saved the world again? I already tried that once, and it didn't work out too well."

"Zoey, this is more important than having a date to the prom. This is the _world_'s safety we're talking about here. And since when do you have 'matters of the heart' about one of the Cyniclons?"

"Yeah, Zoey, since when do you care whether we kick their butts or not? A few months ago you led the fights; now you want to sit in the café and drink tea?"

"No! Of course not! I just think nothing but tragedy can come from all this fighting."

"Have you been looking at philosophy books, Zoey? Because that remark is a little too… _deep_ for someone like you?"

"What do you mean, _someone like me_, Elliot?"

"I mean, someone's who's like a shallow, bouncy airhead that only cares about her clothes and her latest boyfriend. Someone who's a bit of a ditz… well, in your case, more like a bit more than a bit of a ditz."

Oh, that Elliot! He is so rude! "What gives you the authority to call me shallow, bouncy, ditzy, and an airhead? The fact that you _own_ this café? Well guess what? Just because you own the café does _not_ mean you own me. I quit! I'm sick of being a waitress at this stupid café, and I'm sick of you bossing me around."

"Now, now, Zoey, calm down. There's no reason to get irrational, is there?"

"Nice try, Wesley, but you can't always keep the peace. I can't take another day of this stupid save-the-world-before-your-first-kiss talk. For once since I became a Mew Mew, I want to let my heart decide where I'm going. And my heart is telling me to go _any_where but here. So that's what I'm going to do." And with that, I changed out of my red dress and white apron, threw them at Elliot's big, fat, ugly head (which I would hopefully never have to see again), and stormed out the door.

"Should I send someone after her?" I heard Wesley ask Elliot on my way out.

"Nah. She'll come around. She always does." I always do, huh, pal? Well not this time.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Five

"I have to get Zoey out of that planet! But where can I take her? I'm doomed if I come back to where Sardon and Tarb are (those stupid, moronic, BLABBERMOUTHS! I will make them pay!). Wait, what am I doing? Deep Blue is probably on my tail! I should just get to the training session before he kills me! But first… I should warn Zoey that she needs to fight in this war, that Deep Blue is watching her, and that if she doesn't fight, Deep Blue will kill her as well!" These were my first thoughts as I teleported into Café Mew Mew, noticing that Zoey had screamed "I quit!" and ran out the door. And in five seconds, I was found. Why did I have to scream?

"What are you doing here?" yelled the blond monkey girl Tarb has a little crush on. I think her name is Kiki?

"I come in peace, or whatever! The point is, Deep Blue declared interplanetary war to get Zoey back! I don't want to fight, but Zoey and I both have to fight or he'll kill us! Where is she!"

"She quit! I think she's heading home, though. What a headstrong, selfish, ditzy…" said that stupid blond attitude king. I'M GONNA KILL HIM FOR THAT! _NOBODY_ CALLS ZOEY HANSON A DITZ WHILE I'M AROUND!

"SHUT UP ABOUT ZOEY ALREADDY! I don't have time for this! I can't bear to see her die…" I had calmed down just enough to dematerialize my sais (why do they always come out when I'm mad?), and had started to fly towards Zoey's home.

I saw her immediately. Her cat ears had popped up, so she had run in a dark alley. She should know better than that!

"Zoey? What are you doing in a dark alley? Don't you know it's dangerous in dark alleys?"

"Dren? What the heck are _you_ doing here? Didn't Deep Blue declare interplanetary war?"

"Yes he did, but that's what I'm here to talk about. He wants to take you back! Well, the part of him that's still your ex-boyfriend does. He'll kill you if you don't fight, and I have to fight too! I know you don't want to, but…" I had burst into tears and couldn't control myself. "I love you with all of my heart, and I can't bear to see you die! Don't die, Zoey! Don't!"

She slapped me. What did I say?

"Snap out of it, Dren! This isn't like you! I'll fight, just don't cry! And get back to Deep Blue before he kills you! We're both in big trouble, so I'll help you get out of it. Try kissing up to him – it works with Elliot! Good luck… and… I think I …"

But that's all that I heard, as I rushed back home to fight against my will. It was easy getting back, but I had a hard time convincing Deep Blue that I would fight.

"M-m-master," I said, trembling a little bit while bracing myself for the lies that would soon be coming out of my mouth. "I swear that I will fight in this battle. I am ready for my training session, and I will eliminate the Mew Mews without hesitation."

"I have a difficult time believing that you will eliminate the Mew Mews without hesitation." It was true. I would not lay a hand on Zoey if I could prevent it, but I had to lie, for her sake.

"You do not have to worry about the human female Zoey. I will fight and kill her if ordered." Once again, I had to lie, for Zoey's sake.

"Then start your training session. When you finish, you will be fighting in the front lines with Tarb and Sardon."

"Y-y-yes m-m-master," I said, about to faint from the shock.

I ran to the café at full speed, trying to think of what to say to Elliot, and how to kiss up to him to make him forgive me. I would probably have to lie and say that I don't like Dren, and I knew I would have to fight in the front lines. I had to stop thinking about these things now that I was approaching the café, or I might say something I don't want to say.

"Elliot? I'm s… s… s… sorry I blew up like that. I will fight in the front line. I don't like Dren." A gigantic lie, bigger than any I had ever told before combined together. I even think I love him, but I can't say that to Elliot.

"I knew you would come around. Here is your weaponry. Train over there. We will fight in two days."

"Y-y-yes, Elliot." This soon?! I don't want to fight Dren, and I need to think this out. How will I be ready in three days?

I trained for two days straight, but I couldn't sleep at night. I kept crying about Dren, and I could barely eat anything. Why can't I get him out of my mind? To top it all off, none of my friends will talk to me. I feel alone and heartbroken. What's wrong with me?

Finally one night, Renee came in my room to talk to me, along with Kiki. They were looking so solemn and sad, I wondered what they were thinking.

"What are you doing here? I thought you wouldn't want to talk to me," I said, without any understanding of why they were here.

"Zoey, we came to talk. We understand how you feel. I mean, I like one of them too," said Renee, with a surprising lack of sarcasm.

"Yeah, I like Tar-Tar and Renee likes…" Renee covered Kiki's mouth.

"Let me guess. Sardon?" I said. He was the only one left, after all. Renee blushed (something I had never seen her do), confirming my guess was right.

"The point is, we know how you feel. We don't want to fight either. But we have to," Renee said, still shocking me at the lack of sarcasm.

"I know." I finally burst into tears. "Thank you for talking to me. I don't feel much better, but now I know I'm not alone."

"You're welcome, Zoey, and I don't think you're a ditz. Elliot is a big fat meanie for saying that!" Thanks, Kiki. You always know exactly what to say somehow.

"Come on. You need your sleep. You haven't had any in two days." Renee said. I never knew that she could go this long without sarcasm creeping into her speech.

They left right after that. I tried to sleep, but every time I finally got to sleep, I dreamt of Dren.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Six

I don't want to fight. I can't stand the thought of my love getting hurt

_I can't stand to see him die._

_I can't stand to see her die._

I have to fight, to save my beloved from the death that lies ahead if they resist.

_I'm sorry, Dren._

_I'm sorry, Zoey._

But now it's time to fight.

I don't want to fight him. I can't stand the thought of hurting him. I don't want to see him die.

_I want to go home and sneak him candy drops again._

_I want to end this war before it starts, and tell him how I feel._

I don't want to kill him against my will. I want to go home. I want to go home! Tears are flowing down my face!

_I'm sorry, Tar-Tar._

_I'm sorry, Sardon._

But now it's time to fight.

I don't want to fight her. I don't want her to die so young. I don't want to have to kill her because of Deep Blue's orders.

_I want to tell her I don't hate her._

_I want to tell her that I love her._

I don't want this war to start. I don't want to die without telling her how I feel.

_I'm sorry, Kiki._

_I'm sorry, Renee._

But now it's time to fight.

I'm standing in the front line, with Renee and Kiki standing next to me. We all have sad looks on our faces and are trying not to cry. I can't take this any more! I have to say it!

"I'm sorry Dren. I love you…" I heard Kiki and Renee saying similar things about Sardon and Tarb. Elliot was briefing us on our mission, but I wasn't listening. I didn't even care. We were about to land on the battle stop. And I burst into tears.

"I don't want to fight! Can't we make peace with them?" I couldn't stand the pain.

"I know you think you love Dren, but you have to fight. If you can't attack, at least defend yourself," Elliot told me. I think he was trying to comfort me, but he was obviously not used to this.

"O-okay," I said. I was finally crying out loud.

"It's okay, Zoey. Just keep holding on. You're not alone, remember that." I said thank you to Renee, who actually was better at comforting people than Elliot. And got ready as the gate to the plane we were on opened.

We were beginning to fight. I couldn't stand attacking, so I mostly defended – myself, and the others when they needed it. Then I saw Deep Blue. He was the one who caused me all this pain, who hurt Dren and me and left us heartbroken. It was him. HIM! I launched an attack with all of my might. It was the strongest Rose Bell I had ever created, but it had barely touched him. I screamed in a crazy manner. I had been driven mad, and shot him with all of my weaponry. He was still barely hurt.

"MEOW!" I screamed, sounding like a wild cat. I had been driven nearly to the point of insane as I saw him attack. A million small daggers came in my direction. As I jumped in the air, they followed me. THEY HIT! One that had been deflected to the side crushed my ribs and burst one of my lungs out. I was covered in wounds. The blood came so fast it had covered my skin as I began to fall. I tried to scream, but no words escaped my mouth. I was sure I would die, when someone caught me as I fell.

It was Dren. I had tried to thank him, but I felt blood come to my lips.

"Don't talk! You'll die! I'll protect you." He was panicked, betraying his leader… all for me. Mark wouldn't have done this. Wait… didn't Mark hurt me in the first place? I'm confused. And I think I'm going unconscious…

"We'll help too," said Sardon, with Tarb at his side. Sardon began to wrap me up in bandages, and tried to help me breathe.

"Us too! We don't want Zoey to die!" Kiki said, and they began to fight off the enemies.

I'm gonna die. If I'm gonna die, I have to tell Dren how I feel. "Dren… I… love…" I fainted at that moment, with one last thought.

_Dren, I love you._

"Dren, Zoey passed out!" Tarb yelled in my ear.

"Is she dead?" I asked anxiously.

Sardon bent down and listened to her heart. "Not yet. But she will be soon if we don't get her out of here."

"Easier said than done," I replied. Although now _definitely_ was not the time to be doing this, I could feel my 'duh' voice starting to take over. "Is there any way we can get away from all the fighting?"

"There probably is, but unless we want to be killed, I don't suggest taking it." That's one thing I hate about Sardon. He's almost always right – no, scratch that, _always_ right – even when you want him to be wrong.

"Well we have to get Zoey out of here quickly, or the next wayward shot could kill her."

"Um, guys?" Tarb asked, nibbling on his bottom lip, a bad habit I thought he'd kicked. He always did it when he got nervous, and since he used to get nervous every two seconds, it was kind of a repulsive sight to see him eating his lips all the time. "Why is everybody attacking _us _instead of _them_?"

"Uh, maybe that has something to do with the fact that Dren betrayed our clan by saving Zoey?"

"Hey, don't pin the blame on me, Sardon!" I yelled. "You two are both traitors as well."

"Good point."

"GUYS! Have you forgotten where we are? Now is not the time for sibling rivalry! We are in the middle of a battle in an interplanetary war, and we currently have an unconscious girl who needs serious medical attention. And you two think it's a good time to be fighting over who's the bigger traitor?"

"You're right, little guy. Sardon, Tarb – get Zoey away from here."

"How?"

"I'll clear the way or something. Mew Mews – get back to fighting. Fight hard so Deep Blue doesn't notice we're sneaking Zoey away."

"Nice plan, Dren. There's just one _little _problem. Where do _I _fit into all of this?"

"D-d-d-Deep Blue!"

"If you think you can get away with your plan, then you've got another thing coming. _No one_ is leaving this battle alive. That is, no one on _their_ side."

"That's what you think," I said, without thinking about who I was saying it to.

"Did you just talk back to me?"

"Uh… yeah I did. And if all you're going to do is ask me pointless questions, then can I _please_ take Zoey to get treated?"

"And what exactly makes you think I'm going to just let you walk away from here unharmed?"

"Um… because I'm your favorite?"

"You _were_, before you got involved with _that human._ Now I'm starting to wonder whether I should let _you_ leave the battle alive."

"Guys, this is no time to be bickering like cats and dogs!"

"Stay out of this, fool!" Deep Blue sent Sardon flying into Renee, which made Renee turn bright red.

"HEY! YOU DON'T HURT SARDON OR ZOEY AROUND ME!!" Now I was mad.

"Are you trying to challenge me to a duel? You _do_ remember what happened the last time you challenged me to a duel, don't you?" He had a point there, and if I was calmer, I probably wouldn't have done what I did next.

"I…" My sais materialized in my hands.

"DON'T…" They had turned white-hot – a new level of anger for me.

"CARE!!" My sais grew HUGE, and I was now driven mad with anger.

"Alright then," he said, still super-calm. "Let's fight."

By now everyone else had stopped fighting and was watching the two of us.

"Uh, Dren?" I head Tarb say from somewhere behind me.

"Don't," Sardon said, putting a hand on his shoulders. "Just don't. He's too angry to be calmed down now."

"You got a point there, big bro."

I slashed my sais in the air before Deep Blue could do anything. I missed, and he nearly sliced me in half (thank _God_ he missed too). The aftershock from the blow sent us both flying, and I nearly crashed into a still-unconscious Zoey (luckily I caught myself in time). The fight started to seem like a never-ending tug-of-war, and neither sides were ready to give up. _I've gotta do this_, I told myself. _I've gotta fight for Zoey's safety. If Deep Blue wins, he'll kill her!_

That thought gave me the courage I needed to do what I did next. My sais picked up on my emotions and started glowing a pale blue. Another new thing. Perhaps the blue was poison. While Deep Blue was distracted by the glowing of my sais, I teleported behind him and stabbed him in the back with a glowing sai.

He screamed bloody murder as his whole body started to glow with the pale blue of my sais. I was right, the blue was poison – his skin turned a ghostly white and I could see the blue poison coursing through his veins, to his heart, where it finally killed him.

I was still in shock from what I just did when Sardon reminded me that since I killed Deep Blue, I automatically became the next leader. Well then, I was going to use my powers for good. "I declare this war… over!" A lot of cheering came up from the Mew Mews' side. Kiki and Renee screamed the loudest (hmm, wonder why?).

"Now, new leader, you know our ancient tradition states…

"Yes I know about the sacrifice tradition. Which is why I am appointing a new leader. You!" I pointed to my old friend Alicia, a beautiful girl with long blue-black pigtails. "Alicia. I choose you as our next leader. Make me proud."

"Th-th-thank you," she stuttered, accepting the sword I handed over. "I'll m-m-make you proud, for s-s-sure. But why?" she asked.

"Yeah, why are you appointing Alicia as leader?" A lot of other people mumbled similar things, so I gave them my answer.

"Alicia will be your new leader because I have chosen myself and my two brothers as the sacrifice." A lot of people screamed, "No way!" and "Unfair!" but Sardon pointed out, "Does anyone _really_ want to stay on this planet so badly?"  
"Uh, well… no," was the unanimous answer.

"So then, Alicia, take the clan home." As Alicia started to herd the people back onto the spaceship, I turned to my brothers and the Mew Mews and said, "Come on. We've got a Zoey to cure."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Seven

_Where… where am I?_

That was the first thought that came to my head as I woke up in an unfamiliar place. Then I looked down, and saw that I had various bloody wounds all over my body. _What the heck happened to me? And why do I look like thirty cats mobbed me while I was trying to eat some fish?_

"Good! You're up! I'll go tell Dren. He's been bugging Sardon and me about you forever." What? Maybe Dren could make some sense out of all of this.

"Zoey? Are you okay?"

"I… I think so. What happened?"

"After you blacked out, Deep Blue and I fought, and I killed him."

"Great! Wait… you _killed_ him?"

"Uh… yes. But he was going to kill you. I _had_ to, for your sake."

"Oh, that's so sweet. You were trying to protect me. Wait, why are you still here? If you killed Deep Blue, wouldn't that make the war over? And wouldn't that mean you have to go back to your planet?"

"Well, here's the thing. When a war is declared over by a leader (which now is me, since I defeated Deep Blue), three sacrifices must remain on the planet they were fighting against. I volunteered me, Tarb, and Sardon. This tradition was mainly instituted back when we were a more war-like people and the three sacrifices were in case someone on that planet ever wanted to start up the war again, but some people like sticking to old traditions."

"So… that means you guys are staying."

"Yep. Hey, what were you about to say before you blacked out?"

"Uh…." I guess now's as good a time as ever to tell him how I really feel. "I… I… I… I love you."

"Excuse me for a moment," he said. He got up, went outside, and closed the door. But even with the door closed, I could hear him dancing and singing, "Happy happy day, happy day, happy day. Happy happy day, happy day, hooray!"

"Oh…kay." That was weird. I guess after all those times of him telling me he loved me and me not saying it back, he finally had a reason to celebrate.  
Sardon passed by and started laughing hysterically, which snapped Dren out of his happy dance phase. Well, since Sardon doesn't laugh at _anything_, that would be reason enough for Dren to stop.

When Dren had _finally_ calmed down and returned to my room, I asked him, "Where am I? And why do I look like Frankenmew?"

"You're at a room in the Café. We couldn't find anywhere else to treat you, and we knew if we took you home your parents would flip out, so Elliot let us stay here."

"How did you convince him?"

"Honestly? You don't want to know."

"Okay, I'll take your word for it."

"As to your Frankenmew comment, it's because that Million Dagger attack Deep Blue did on you caused a lot of damage. If you have trouble breathing, it's because one of your lungs burst open. Sardon fixed it most of the way, but you needed to be awake for him to fully fix it."

"Okay."

"Well, do you think you could handle some food? Maybe some strawberry tea? And a piece of toast?"

"I think so," I said slowly.

"Okay. I'll be back with a tray. Take it easy, kitty cat. Get some rest."

After delivering a tray to Zoey, I slipped out of the room silently, noticing she had taken my advice to heart and fallen asleep. So that the food didn't get cold, I used a spell that made it stay warm until she woke up.

Once back in the common area (aka the front of the café – there were no customers since the CLOSED sign was up), I saw Tarb and Kiki watching a movie while feeding each other popcorn and candy drops, occasionally pausing to give each other demure kisses on the lips. Bridget and Corina were enjoying an afternoon tea – complete with sandwiches, scones, and cakes, along with a pot of Corina's favorite herbal tea – in a sunny table by a window. And Renee and Sardon were sharing mugs of hot cocoa and kisses that were even steamier than the cocoa.

"Is Zoey asleep?" Bridget asked, with a chocolate-chip scone halfway to her mouth.

"Yeah. She's doing well."

"Well she'd better get well soon, because business is _seriously_ tanking." Is it so hard for Elliot to say something supportive for once?

"Yeah, and now I actually have to _work_! Me! Work!"

"Oh, come on, Corina, it isn't _so_ bad."

"Yes it is!"

"Oh _God_, don't be such a _baby_, Corina."

Corina was speechless at first, but then mumbled a string of expletives under her breath. Of course, since those words had come from Renee, Corina's _idol_, Corina would never say anything mean back to her. At least Renee had that as protection from Corina's _wrath_.

"You know, Zoey's eighteenth birthday is in a month, and I think we should throw her a _gigantic_ surprise party!"

"But you guys will destroy the café!" Elliot whined, as if he could read our minds and tell we wanted to throw it at the café.

My old friends Sai One and Sai Two popped up, and I pointed them both at Elliot's throat. "You'll let us have the party here," I said in a low voice.

"Okay!" he squeaked out, obviously scared for his life.

"Good." I dematerialized the sais, then started a list. "Okay. Kiki, Tarb? You two are in charge of decorations. And try to actually put them up, not just have a lovey-dovey couple fight with the streamers and balloons." The list went on and on as I started delegating things like decorations, food, entertainment, etc, etc, etc. After everything Zoey had been through recently, I wanted to throw her the biggest, best super-sweet-eighteen party ever. She deserved it.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Eight

It's my birthday today. So why is Elliot making me work? I swear, someday I'm going to quit this job _for real_. Let's see what business is like after the star waitress flies the coop. Oh well! If I don't get over there, he'll call me again (what is it now, like the fifteenth time he asked?) just to bug me. Ugh! I have the worst boss on Earth!

What I didn't realize was that

Number One: I was in the café already

**and**

Number Two: I was thinking out loud again.

"Really, Zoey? Would the worst boss on Earth allow your friends to throw a surprise party here?" What? A surprise party?

"Hey, I had to hold my sais up to your throat before you agreed, so don't get cocky!" came the familiar voice of Dren, which instantly reassured me that Elliot wasn't trying to prank me or something.

Elliot shoved me through the door, where someone instantly blindfolded me, then pushed me through the door into a room. They helped me change (keep in mind, I was still blindfolded) into some kind of dress, then took off the blindfold and shoved me back into the main area of the café. Which, I noticed, looked totally different.

Pink, red, and white streamers were hung everywhere, twisted into cool designs that made them sort of look like DNA strands. Pink and red cat-shaped balloons covered the ceiling, and were taped to the back of all the chairs. The tables had all been pushed together to form one giant table, with all the chairs around them. A giant white banner that said HAPPY EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY ZOEY in pink and red glitter hung across the ceiling. Pink candles sat in the middle of a huge pink, white, and red flower arrangement, and also sat to the side of them. In front of each chair was a cute pink gift bag with what looked like cat-shaped erasers, pink and red pencils with little white 18 icons, candy, and a notebook shaped like me in my Mew Mew form with a pink pen that wrote in sparkly pink glitter ink to go with it. Pink foil-wrapped Hershey's Chocolate Kisses were scattered all over the table, and more, larger kisses dangled from the ceiling (maybe with invisible wire, but probably with magic). In a corner, I saw a huge buffet table with lots of food and a big punch bowl.

Then I looked down at myself. My uniform had been replaced by a beautiful pink dress. It was long and fell in a chic, simple column, made of bright pink silk and covered with tiny bits of silver glitter that caught the light. Spaghetti-straps showed off my shoulders, and a ruffle at the hem drew attention to my legs. And my black uniform sneakers were now pink satin pumps with crystal beading. I felt a slight pressure on my head, but instead of the crown-like headpiece that was part of my uniform, it was a flowing white tulle veil with tiny bits of pink and silver glitter, pinned to my head with a crown of fresh pink roses.

"Surprise, Zoey!" everyone screamed.

"Even though it's not much of a surprise because _somebody_ had to get all worked up over Zoey's opinion of their management skills!" Renee said, angry that Elliot had ruined the surprise.

"Oh, will you guys stop fighting! It's time to party!" Kiki nearly screamed. I didn't know that she could talk like that. Have Corina and Renee been giving her lessons or something?

I looked around trying to decide what to do first. Then, I realized that I hadn't eaten anything all day, and my friends had swiped all the best food from the cafe.

"Hey, how about we have some food?" I asked.

"Yeah!" said Bridget and Corina, knowing that all the best food and cakes had been swiped.

We grabbed as many treats as we could and started stuffing our faces. What started to scare me was when Corina got to the pie, and got an evil look all over her face. I knew instantly what she was going to do.

"Corina... don't... not now... I'm in a fancy dress... Corina, NO!" I said, watching her take aim on Kiki.

"FOOD FIGHT!" she yelled.

Suddenly the café erupted into a mini battlefield. Kiki threw a strawberry-frosted cupcake at Corina, which missed and hit Renee. She retaliated by dumping a cup of berry punch on Kiki's head. Then Bridget launched a platter of pink-frosted brownies up at the ceiling (she was trying to hit Sardon, who was trying to fly away without getting any food on him), which eventually fell and hit Elliot on the head. His response? Throwing a pink popcorn ball at her, which stuck to her braids.

A slice of raspberry cheesecake came hurling at me, thrown from a direction I couldn't place. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the impact of cheesecake on my pretty dress, when…

I opened my eyes. The cheesecake was gone. Or at least, it hadn't hit. Well, me, that is. To save me and my pretty dress, Dren had used himself as a human (well, okay, alien) shield. "Don't worry, Zoey. I'll keep you from getting covered in food. I can't believe someone would have the _nerve _to start a food fight on _your_ eighteen birthday! While you're in a pretty dress that cost us about a thousand dollars! Corina sure has some nerve."

"You can say that again," I muttered, not caring if anyone heard me, least of all Corina, who was right now trying to spray Tarb with whipped cream.

I was still a little shocked. Dren would normally love to play in a food fight. He was being so nice to me!

"Come on Zoey, get under the table!" he yelled as he dragged me under the snack table.

"Thanks for helping me, Dren. I know that you would want to have played in the food fight."

"No, I wouldn't have." I gave him my best 'I don't believe you' look, and he caved. "Oh okay, yes I _normally_ would have, but I want to protect you."

"Awwwww! Dren, you're so sweet!" I was so happy that he was doing all that he could to protect me, that I grabbed his face and kissed him. At first he was a little surprised, but then really got into it, kissing me back with kisses tender and passionate at the same time. I had never been kissed like this before, so I really wanted to enjoy it, and didn't notice anything around me, even the flying scoops of strawberry ice cream (yes, the girls had moved on from throwing cake and cookies at each other to scooping ice cream out of the giant container Wesley had brought out from the back of the freezer).

The girls didn't realize that we were under the table until about five minutes after we started, when Wesley came back from the kitchen with more treats.

"Girls, what's with all the... why did you start a food fight?"

"Corina started it!" Tarb cried, clasping his hand over his mouth after he said it. Why can't that kid keep a secret?

"I'm gonna kill you, little blabbermouth," Corina said angrily.

"I'm not mad, I was just curious," Wesley said, setting down a platter of chocolate-covered strawberries and heart-shaped sugar cookies.

"However, you guys will have to clean this up tomorrow. What irresponsible people! Playing around, throwing food at each other!" Elliot exclaimed, picking icing out of his 'perfect hair.' Bridget was steaming from that.

"HEY! You're the one who threw the pink popcorn ball in my hair! You have no right to talk! Say… has anyone seen Zoey and Dren?"

"Yeah, where are they?" asked Kiki.

"They're under the table making out. They've been that way for the past five minutes." Everyone was impressed with Renee, but soon snapped out of it to get us out from under the table.

"Guys! It's time for presents!" Kiki cried, obviously wanting me to open her present.

"Fine. Present time," I said. Everyone got more excited than when they saw the cakes as they all rushed to grab their presents and make sure I opened theirs first.

I decided to open Corina's first. It had some of the prettiest wrapping paper I had ever seen – what looked like pink silk with tiny red bows on it. I made sure to save it for something else – only a spoiled brat like Corina would throw away silk. "Oh, look, it's a tea set," I said, lifting out a white porcelain tea set with ZOEY written in pink on the side of the cup. "And a box of… mint tea." Corina's favorite. Not even strawberry tea, my favorite. Obviously Corina had an ulterior motive.

"This way you can make me my tea for me," she said, answering my unspoken doubts about the sincerity of her present.

"Uh… thank you?" I said, but it came out more like a question than a statement.

Next came Bridget's present, which I was sure would have no ulterior motive to it. It was wrapped very nicely in a cute red wrapping paper. When I opened the present, it was a _huge_ book that I was sure I would never read. I tried to be as nice as I could to her, since I knew she would never say something like 'so you can read it to me.'

"Umm... thank you Bridget. However did you find a book like this?"

"Oh! It was nothing! I just went to the local book store. They were having a sale on antique books."

"Well... um... thanks…" I said. GOD! Two not-so-great presents in a row!

The next present I saw was put in a customized paper bag with little drawings of cats on it. That had to be Kiki's. Maybe this one would end the bad present streak. When I opened the bag, it had some kind of a weird tool in it. I was pretty sure I'd seen Kiki use one just like it in one of her performances, but which one? And what did it do?

"Umm... Kiki? Not to be rude, but what exactly is this?"

"It's a tool to breathe fire! Do you like it?"

"Yeah... it's great." I was only _kinda_ lying. If I knew how to use it, it might be great, but unless this tool also comes with fire-breathing _lessons_ (which I'm not even sure I would _want_ to take if Kiki offered them), it's just a weird piece of junk I can't use. Oh man! Will the bad present streak ever end?

Up next was Tarb. He held out a white box with the name of the most expensive candy company in town plastered all over it. Mmm, treats! This one _had_ to be better than all the others! I quickly opened it and found a white chocolate lollipop, dyed pink, covered with pink and red sprinkles, in the shape of a cat. It was nestled in a bed of pink and red bubble gum balls and candy drops. "Thanks, Tarb!" I said.

"No problem. Kiki bought them in town for me, and Corina lent me the money. It was worth it, seeing that look on your face, to have to call Corina 'Princess Corina' and get her tea every day for a month."

"Oh, Tarb!" I said playfully, giving him a pat on the back. Then I bent down and whispered, "I'll pay you back the money to give to Corina, so you don't have to do that."

His whole face lit up. "Thanks, Zoey!" he whispered in my ear.

Sardon stepped forward to give me his present next. "Here," he said. "I made this myself." He gave me a small – but heavy – box wrapped in cute white paper with pink hearts.

"Uh, okay," I replied. _Let's hope Tarb didn't give me my only good present tonight_. To tell you the truth, I didn't know what Sardon would make. All I knew is that it would be computer-related.

When I unwrapped the box, it was a little computer game called 'Mew Mew Power,' with a picture of the five of us in Mew Mew form on the front. It looked really cool, and I was ecstatic, not only because of the great present, but because it looked like the bad present curse was finally broken.

"Thank you Sardon!" I said, in a happy voice.

Last up was Renee's present, and then Dren's. I wonder what Dren got me?

Renee handed me a pink-striped Victoria's Secret bag. "Um, Renee? Did you run out of wrapping paper or something?" Why else would she use a bag from one of her lingerie purchases to hold my present? It couldn't possibly be because my present_ is_ Victoria's Secret lingerie, could it? No, that would be weird even for Renee.

"Just open it," she said. I did so, because I was a little bit scared of what she might do if I didn't.

I dug through the pink perfumed tissue paper and pulled out… a very short, sheer almost to the point of being see-through, sleeveless pink silk nightgown. And a matching pink lace corset to go underneath.

"Oh, and Dren? I got you a little present as well. Here!" She tossed a small blue cardboard box at him. He caught it, looked down at it, then looked at my present, then looked at Renee. I was sure we were both thinking the same thing: _Is Renee on drugs?_

"Um… thanks?" I tried to say, but it came out like a question. "But, Renee? I just have one question. What is this stuff for?"

"Uh… Zoey? Not to be blunt or anything, but you do know what you're legally allowed to do once you turn eighteen, don't you?" Where are you going with this, Renee?

"Um, drive?"

"Can't you already do that?"

"Vote?"

"I don't think these things would be useful for that."

"Drink?"

"That's twenty-one, Zoey."

"Well…. oh!" I felt my face burn bright red and my ears and tail popped up through my outfit. Kiki started pointing it out, but I was too busy blushing and giggling (and thinking about using Renee's presents in my mind) to say anything to her.

"Okay!" I chirped. "Who wants to play Seven Minutes in Heaven?"

_Thank_ God_ for Renee!_ were my first thoughts as she tossed me that little blue box. With all the planning of the party and making sure it was the best ever, I had _kinda _forgotten to get Zoey a gift. But Renee had saved me. _Thank God for Renee! Again!_

Zoey was blushing and giggling and her cat ears and tail had popped up, so I decided it was time to take this party into my hands. "Seven Minutes in Heaven sounds like a _wonderful_ idea, Zoey. But let's play with Cyniclon rules."

"What are those?" Bridget asked, ever the Little-Miss-Know-It-All, or at least the Little-Miss-_Wants_-To-Know-It-All.

"Well, for one thing, the time is a lot longer. It's half an hour instead of seven minutes. And it's in the bedroom instead of some stuffy old cramped closet where you have to stand on soda cans and get brooms and vacuum cleaners wedged in your backside."

"Oh. I see." Bridget also started blushing, and stared at Elliot.

His response? "Why are you looking at me like that? And why are you blushing?"

I smacked him on the back of his head. "Hel-lo-oh! Anybody home? Bridget likes you, you big idiot! Why, I have no idea."

"Oh…kay, if you say so." He tried to look indifferent, but his face was starting to take on a slight reddish hue. Everyone got a good laugh out of that.

"So are we gonna play or what?"

"Calm down, Kiki. First we need a bottle." Renee picked up a cupcake and took a huge bite. Everyone gasped, especially Corina, who was shocked to see her idol with pink frosting on her nose.

"What?" Renee asked, taking another big bite. She washed it down with some punch, causing Corina to gasp again. "It's a party. I can do whatever I want. You should try it some time, Corina. It's called having fun."

"Back on subject, please!" Oh Corina. You can be such a frigid old maid sometimes.

"We have this old wine bottle from some night that I don't remember. I think Renee and Sardon finished it off one night. Anyway, we can spin that."

I was curious to know if that finished-off wine bottle had made Renee and Sardon do anything else that night, but I kept my questions inside, not wanting to freak out Zoey… or Corina, for that matter, who was shocked enough to see her idol acting less than the poster child for perfection. Renee was getting more and more interesting by the second. Maybe she _did_ hook up with my older brother. It sure would explain why she was acting weird lately. Well, not exactly weird, but less like herself. It makes me want to puke just thinking about it.

"Well then, Attitude King, where is that old bottle?"

"Attitude King? Hey!" Elliot started to complain, but Sai One and Sai Two quickly reminded him who had the power in this situation.

He dug the bottle out from under a mess of pots and pans, and we all sat in a circle. Kiki ended up making the first spin, despite everyone's attempts to tell her she was too young to play. It ended up landing on Tarb, which was a relief. Scratch that – a relief is an understatement. Tarb took her to her bedroom, telling her they would play some new game he just got in. I could see her face lighting up as he described it.

Sardon took the next spin, and everyone but Renee backed up, making it impossible for the bottle to land on anyone but Renee. "Well then, I guess my partner's been chosen." No complaint whatsoever. The idea that they had hooked up beforehand was becoming easier and easier to believe, especially when he picked her up – like the groom does to the bride before he carries her over the threshold – and flew her up to her room.

Zoey and I had the same reaction. "What… the… heck?"

Corina spun next. It landed on Wesley. He was too nice to complain, but left any romance out of their departure. Elliot spun next, making Bridget blush before the bottle even stopped (it landed on her, of course, which made Elliot blush). Finally we were alone.

"Guess there's no need to spin now, isn't there?" I said, trying to cut the tension.

"Um… yeah I guess not." Oddly enough, this was the first time we'd been alone together without bloody wounds all over her body in the last month. Or maybe this was just the first time we'd noticed it. Renee's presents had really shaken us up.

"We should… uh… probably go now."

"Uh…yeah. Good idea."

I wanted to pick her up like Sardon did to Renee, but I didn't have the strength. Luckily she was thinking the same thing, and practically jumped into my arms. It reminded me of that one rainy night in that rickety old flower stand. _Not now_, I kept telling myself. _You're about to maybe hook up with the girl of your dreams and you can't stop thinking about one night you took her home in the rain? Idiot idiot IDIOT! Wait, no! No no no! Berating yourself isn't going to get you to Zoey's room faster!_

"Just teleport already!" Zoey said, as if she could read my mind.

"Oh… yeah. Teleporting. Right. Uh… thanks." Thank you Zoey. Without you I would probably still be zoned out.

Making sure I had Renee's little blue box in my pocket, I teleported into Zoey's room. Here's where I got a little scared. I had never done anything like this with a girl back home. What were we supposed to do?


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Nine

Did Renee lace my punch with something? I don't know, and I don't want to find out what it was if she did. But why else would I have jumped into Dren's arms like we were newlyweds, then started freaking out the moment we got into my bedroom? Someone must have slipped something into my drink.

He looked like he was clueless too. That I did not understand. Dren looked like the kind of guy who would have had a million girlfriends back home. Could it really be possible that I wasn't the only virgin in the relationship?

Silently thanking Renee for this excuse to calm down in private, I held up Renee's present bag and said, "I'm just gonna go… change into this."

"You do that," he said. Was it just me, or did he seem to relax at the idea of me leaving the room?

Once I was in the connecting bathroom (because of my wounds, Elliot had given me the only room in the café with a connecting bathroom so I wouldn't have to walk too far when I needed to go), I looked myself in the mirror and started shouting, "Stupid, stupid, STUPID! Why would I ever think someone like him would ever want someone like me?"

"You're such a drama queen, kitty," he called.

"Were you eavesdropping on me?"

"No… it's just that you're shouting at the top of your lungs."

"Uh… well… um… you see… the thing is…" I could feel my knees buckling under me as my body began to sway. Of course Dren picked up on this. He ran in and caught me seconds before I hit the ground.

Of course it was a little bit embarrassing, because my dress was halfway off, revealing my pink lace bra with strawberries (it was my favorite, so I only wore it on special days – like my birthday!).

"I'll let you change in peace," he said, putting me down safely and walking out. After he was gone, I took my time in changing, feeling the silk against my barely-covered body (geez, Renee, you couldn't have bought me pajamas?).

"Hey, Zoey, are you still alive? You've been in there for an awfully long time."

"Uh… yeah! Never been better. I'm coming out right now." When I walked out of that bathroom, I swear, I thought his jaw was going to drop to the South Pole.

"You hate it, don't you? Oh, I just knew you'd hate it. It's _so_ not me. I'm changing back."

"Now why on Earth would you want to do that?" Now _that_ was the reaction I was looking for. My cat instincts kicked in and I tackled him onto the bed.

We kissed and kissed, and just as things were really heating up, I looked down at myself and saw black paws instead of hands. Then I realized Renee's beautiful silk dress was gone, and black fur had replaced it.

I tried to talk, but all that came out were meows. "Meow! Meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow, meow meow meow meow meow meow meow!" _"Dren! I don't know what's happened to me, but I turned into a cat!"_

"Zoey, what the heck? Where did you go?"

"Meow meow." _"Down here."_

"What? A cat! She looks just like Zoey."  
"Meow meow meow meow meow meow!" _"That's because it is me!"_

"I don't speak cat."

"Meow meow meow. Meow meow meow meow meow meow." _"Oh brother. This is going nowhere."_

"I'm confused. Zoey is gone, and a really cute black cat is in her place."

"Meow meow meow meow meow meow." _"This should be obvious."_

"Well, as cute as you are cat, I have to get rid of you. It's my girlfriend's eighteenth birthday, and if you're gone, maybe she'll come out of hiding and…"

"Meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow. Meow meow meow meow meow?" _"Apparently I have to take matters into my own hands. Or should I say paws?"_

I jumped onto his chest and kissed him. That caused me to turn back into normal.

"Whoa. Did a cat just kiss me?"

"It was _me_, you idiot!" I slapped him on the face.

"I'm sorry, but like I said, you were speaking cat and I don't speak cat!"

"No, _I'm_ sorry. I guess I should have told you. When I get really excited or embarrassed, I turn completely into a cat. Not just ears and tail. A full cat."

"Well, nice to know. Do you want to get back to where we were before you turned into a cat?" He was obviously trying hard not to smile, but a playful grin was creeping onto his face.

Any other time I would have automatically said no, that the mood was ruined, and changed back into my regular clothes and went back downstairs to join the party (or whatever was left of it). But instead, I pulled back the covers and got under the bed, motioning for him to join me.

Now _that_ he understood. Which just proves that Cyniclon boys are still boys underneath the pointy ears and fangs and weird clothing choices.

"I love you, Zoey," he murmured.

"I love you too, Dren," I whispered back. And if I knew him (and I did know him, and soon would know him in the biblical sense), his heart was probably exploding in his chest just from those five simple words.

He opened his mouth to say something, but I shut him up with a kiss. "Don't talk," I said. "Just kiss me."

And he happily did. And then one thing led to another, and that thing led to another thing, and…

Basically, to put it bluntly, I lost my virginity that night. And looking back now, I don't regret it in the slightest.


End file.
